Mattress



Patented Mar.27,1883.

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L. HEATH. MATTRESS.

(No Model.)

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LABAN HEATH, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MATTRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 274,495, dated March 2'?, 1883.

Application filed October 6, 1882. (No model.)

To all, whom. it may concern and exact to enable any person skilled in the..

Be it known that I, LABAN HEATH, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Mattresses, of which the following is a description sufficiently ful i clear,

art or science to which said invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figurel is an isometrieal perspective view, showing a portion of the upholstery removed 5 Fig. 2, a vertical transverse section; Figj, a vertical section, showing one of the tubes Fig. 4, a vertical longitudinal section of a modiiication of the air-chamber or body, and Fig. 5 a bottom plan view of the body.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures of the drawings.

My invention relates more especially to lifepreserving mattresses, or that class of mattresses whieh are provided with means forrendering them buoyantandprcventing accidental drowning; and it consists in a novel construction and arr'an gementof the parts, as here inafter more fully set forth land claimed, by which a more effective device of this character is produced than is now in ordinary use.

The nature and operation of theimprovement will be readily understood by all conversaut with such matters from the following explanation, its extreme simplicity rendering an elaborate description unnecessary.

In the drawings, A represents the air-chamber or body of the mattress, and B the upholstery. Y

The body consists of an air-cushion rectanguiar in form, and composed of rubber, rubber cloth, or similar material, being divided into two compartments by the partition F, and each compartment provided with an inatingtube, K, preferably located on opposite sides of the mattress, or so that one of the tubes will always be accessible when the mattress is submerged, and shouldpne compartment become leaky the other will float the mattress. The

top andbottom,C D,of the body are connected by a series of short vertically-arranged tubes, m m, opening outwardly through the same,the

` tubes being preferably composed of rubber and hermetically sealed or united thereto.

The upholstery B consists of ordinary hair or similar material, E, covered with cloth or ticking G, the mattress being tufted, or its upper and lower surfaces connected by means of cords or twines x, which pass from side toside through the same, and are secured at their outer ends bythe buttons d in the usual manner.

A series of short stout straps, c c, are attached iirmly to the sides and ends of the body at rcgularintervals` and provided at theirouter or free ends with rings 'i t'. These straps project horizontally through the upholstery, and are provided with a stout cord or life-line, H, preferably extending entirely around the edge of the mattress. There are also one or more4 cross-lines, J, which encircle the mattress, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 5, also secured in the rings t fi but these may be omitted,if desired.

The primary object of the tubes m is to enable the mattress to be upholstered, as without them or properly-constructed openings through the body A it would be impossible to tuft the same perfectly by means of the cords and buttons x [l without perforating the body, and thus rendering it useless. They also perform another important function in preventing the body of the mattress from bulging or lloecoxning unduly distended at the top and bottom when fully inflated, as would be the case were they not used, the tubes acting as stays to hold the top and bottom surfaces, C D, of the body in parallelism with each other, and thus keep the mattress in much better shape and condition than would otherwise be possible. They also serve to ventilate the mattress, permitting the air to pass more or less freely through the upholstery with which the airchamber is surrounded.

I deem the tubes m preferable to any other means with which I am acquainted for connecting the upper and lower surfaces of the air-chamber, and providing means for ventilation and the passage of the upholstering-t'wine :c through the same; but for very thin i matsurfaces, or top and bottom of the body, are hermetically sealed or united around the holes n in such a manner as to make Water and `air lines H to the body A by means of the straps a mattresses and rings t', or otherwise, as these may be secured directly to the ticking or upholstery of 4the mattress, if preferred. lNeither do I'coniine myself to the use of the body or air-chamber A in life-saving mattresses alone, as it will be obvious that it is well adapted' for ordinary mattresses, in which a large saving may be et'- fected in the amount of hair required for upholstering by its employment. It will also be obvious that the air-chamber may be divided into more than two compartments, if desired, each compartment being furnished with an indating-tube.

I amaware that life-saving mattresses, or provided with means forrendering the same buoyant in the water, are not new, and therefore do not claim but,

' Having thus explained my invention, what I claim isl. The air-chamber orbodyA,provided with holes-or openings through the same for receiving cords or twine, whereby it is adapted to be upholstered withoutinjury and the upholstery kept in proper position, substantially as specified.

2. The air-chamber or bodyA, provided with the tubes m, substantially as and for the pur pose set forth.

3. The improved mattress described, the same consisting of the air-chamber or body A,

, provided .with openings for the tufting cords or twine as, in combination B and with said cords,

scribed..l A

4. The air-chamber orbod y A, provided with with the upholstery substantially as dethe holes or openings v, the top and bottoni C D o f the chamber being hermetically sealed around the holes, substantially as set forth.

5. The body A, provided with the straps a, rings t', and lineH, substantially as speciled. 6. The combination of' the body A, upholstery B, and life-line H, substantially as shown. 7. The cross-lines J, in combination with the line H and body A, substantially as set forth. 8. The body A, having two compartments, each compartment being'provided with an inflating-tube opening in a direction opposite that of the tube in the adjoining compartment, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

LABAN HEATH.

Witnesses:

C. A. SHAW, E. C. HEATH, ALFRED FAWcE'r'r. 

